


Pen Pals Aren't Real Friends

by Lance_buddy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College University, Alternate Universe - High School, Car Accident, Divorce, Insomnia, Letters, M/M, Probably ooc, Slow Burn, Texting, pen pal, slight bullying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-05-29 06:58:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15067667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lance_buddy/pseuds/Lance_buddy
Summary: P.s. I put a little dolphin eraser in the envelope so that maybe you could erase the stuff you don’t actually want me to see, or, y’know, you could get another piece of paper and start over???? Jk :)Keith is forced to pick a pen pal. The lucky recipient? Lance, and he's more than ready to be a friend. Not that Keith's willing to admit that he needs one.





	1. August 25 to October 6

**Author's Note:**

> I sure do have that habit of starting fics I don't finish so we'll see what happens here. This was originally a sabriel fic for supernatural (call me out if suddenly sam and or gabriel make appearances) and it's mostly written, but here I am deconstructing it to fit Klance. hopefully I don't abandon this in a week.
> 
> They're both probably ooc, and yes, keith is written with poor punctuation and capitalization for a reason. that reason being that he doesn't give a heck....yet

_august 25_

_dear lance,_

_hopefully that is your name. i know getting an unprecedented letter from a stranger isnt the best thing to get in august. my counselor made me pick a name off the list, and part of me feels a little unsure about this whole thing. im sure my brother was involved somehow._

_anyway back to the reason why i am writing this letter. my counselor said i had to choose a name off the list because i need a friend. i have no idea how this is supposed to correlate with making friends at a school that is states away from where its going. but i guess she talked me into it anyway._

_you definitely dont have to respond if you dont want to. this probably didnt even make it past the post office anyway. im just doing this to appease my counselor, so dont feel any pressure to make any effort in replying, I just think the counselor doesn't want to deal with me herself._

_she said the letter had to be half a page long. why are there rules for pen pals?_

_-keith_

 

 

August 31

Hello Keith!

             I’m sorry that it took me so long to reply. I stared at the letter since Thursday trying to figure out how to respond to it. It’s not your fault or anything. I’m seventeen and I don’t know how to properly respond to anything, so I kind of pretended like I already knew you thinking that this might be a little easier to write. I don’t think it’s working.

             I’ve always wanted to do some kind of pen pal thing. But I’ll only keep writing as long as you do. Just warn me if you do decide to stop though because I don’t want the last letter to be open ended. That’d be embarrassing.

             Also, yeah, I’m not seeing the connection between a school friend and a pen pal. I mean, kinda, the word pal implies something that I imagine your counselor connected, but they definitely aren’t the same. I won’t write my in depth analysis on this matter, but believe me, I thought about this.

             Is this the part of the friendship where I tell you about myself or is that supposed to be saved for later where you have to piece the pieces together and figure out who exactly I am that way? Is it the same both ways? I have no clue, so I’m just gonna leave that decision up to you and leave off here and hope that I didn’t scare you off or anything.

Lance!

P.s. I'm totally cool with you venting to me as long as I get to do it back. I've got a big family with big family drama. Love them to death but sometimes it's crazy.  


 

 

_september 4_

_lance,_

_it would have been really awkward if you decided to not respond. i didn’t even buy the stamp for the letter. take that however you want._

_i dont know what i would even tell you about myself. it feels a little like a stranger danger situation. you dont even have to do this so why even care? i doubt you really want me to vent to you. im boring_

_i suppose ill share the same things ive learned about you from your letter._

_im 17 too_

_i only have my older brother, technically hes not even my brother. he’s cool i guess, actually hes more of an embarrassment than anything but whatever. hes 26 and part of me wishes he didnt have to grow up so fast, but that leads into the stuff i dont want to talk about so i wont._

_your turn_

_-keith_

  


September 10

Keith,

         I guess I understand your stranger danger thing, but we're here to become friends. How is that supposed to happen if we don't at least introduce ourselves better?

         And I do want you to vent to me about everything. I live to hear the he said she said even if it's not even from the same state as me, and I am interested in you. You’re kinda like a safe to crack, and I’m the cool suave detective who gets all the ladies to swoon with a wink. I wanna see what's inside the vault.

         I'll kick things off. I used to live in Cuba, but we moved up to California so my brothers could go to college here. I have three older siblings, Marco, Luis, and Veronica. Only Veronica lives at home still because she's in college. My cousin Allura also lives with us time to time when her uncle has to go out of town. He’s an enigma. I’d have to write a whole entire book to get the basics of him down. Tons of other cousins, other family stuff you don't care about. I’ll tell you my biggest family drama just to prove I mean it when I say I want to get to know you. Right now, my parents are going through a divorce and they haven't even told half the family yet. I hate that it's happening, but I'd rather see my parents happy than fighting all the time.

          Maybe I should tell you about me rather than just my family. I love, love, love the beach and swimming. Sand is my ideal footwear. I’m on my school’s swim team. I’ve got the fastest freestyle of my team. The best weather, which I don’t get to see that much anymore is when it rains during the daytime, and I mean the full blown downpour where you probably shouldn’t be driving and it’s windy and dark out, and sometimes the street lights turn on. My basement used to flood when I was younger because of it, so my mom really hates the rain, but I think it’s calming.

          That wasn’t too much. I’d hate to scare you away. So now you know more about my backstory. I wanna know yours now. If you’re comfortable with that anyway. Like your brother. Is he your guardian? If he’s not your brother how could he be your guardian then? Actually I don’t know. I’d really like to know.

Lance!

 

_september 15_

_lance,_

_i never really looked at your address before. i just assumed you lived like on the other side of the country, but youre only a state away. is it on the ocean side? i live in the desert. well, not just in the desert. my neighbors arent cactuses. its an apartment with a few other people, but its dusty and hasnt rained in so long during the daytime. the mountains keep it all._

_so i lied in my last letter. shiro is my uncle, but hes so young he might as well be my brother. im not gonna tell you why im living with him. people always tell me to talk about what happened, even shiro, but ive never felt better after talking about it, and i dont want pity from anyone. thats the last thing i need._

_how are you just so trusting of me to tell me something about your family like that? we arent even friends. i could be some creep or what if the letters got mixed up and some strange guy got the letter and is learning all about you? what if i was just a prison pen pal?_

_-keith_

 

September 19

Keef!

            I really like nicknames, and I really like giving them to my FRIENDS; which is a synonym of the word PAL; which is part of PEN PAL; which is what we are. Besides, you don’t really know who I am, so who are you gonna tell one of my biggest secrets to? There’s probably a billion and ten Lances in Nevada, none of which are me, and there’s definitely a ton of Keiths in Cali, and none of them are you, so who’s even gonna know?

           Take your time though. I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable. If you were anything but the person I think you are, then I doubt you’d warn me about it, and I doubt you’d be so uncomfortable sharing anything. Would it help if I told you more about myself though? Oversharing is my middle name.

            My best friend’s name is Hunk. I’ve known him since sixth grade after I moved here. We were both the new kids, and we’ve been through literally everything together. The stars to my moon, the sun in my sky, the wind in my hair. My best bro. <3 He loves to cook and he’s really great at mechanics. If there was a way to seal one of his famous cookies in this envelope without it getting gross I would because you’re missing out.

             Another one of my friends is Pidge. She’s younger than us by a few years, but she’s super smart just like Hunk. They’re honor students, NHS and everything. I’m so proud of them. One time they worked together in chemistry and they ended up causing the entire science wing to have to evacuate. We didn’t have school for a week. They’ve both got hella scholarships lined up too. Did I mention how proud I am of the both of them?

             We live about ten minutes away from the beach. It’s a crowded public beach, but it’s nice. Well, bye I guess.

Lance!

 

_september 26_

_lance,_

_youre really adamant on the friend thing arent you? i guess it makes sense because we dont know each other. i doubt anyone that i know even knows anyone named lance in the first place. maybe its okay._

_those are some difi different names. you said you liked nicknames, are pidge and hunk nicknames too?_

_i bet youre really smart just like them. youll have to make an entire letter about that time they blew up the school because im very interested. did they get in trouble? because one time in class some kid gave me ammonium sulfide to put over the bunsen burner and the class smelled like trash for like four days and i got in a lot of trouble. i was suspended for punching the kid because the smell didn’t leave my favorite jacket for months._

_i should probably mention that shiro and i have to leave our place and we dont really trust our other roommates, and theyre stiffing the rent money. so shiro paid to take his name off the lease and were ditching. In three days actually. so i don’t know if we can keep writing. i wouldn’t know where to tell you to send the letter even if you wanted to. i can’t afford the stamps anyway, so i couldn’t send any letters back._

_bye i guess._

_-keith_

_p.s dont call me keef..._

 

_september 28_

_lance,_

_i felt like that wasn’t a proper goodbye even though we haven’t met or anything. frankly i think were still strangers, but i felt bad leaving it like that. i’m not even sure why i said half the things i have because i never really tell anyone anything. ~~it’s probably why i don’t have many friends.~~ wow… i really just admitted that. i don’t have an eraser. ignore the crossed out bit. _

_id like to one day maybe feel comfortable telling you something more about myself. i wish i could now, but i think either you don’t really care, or once i start writing about it i wont be able to stop. you think you want to hear about my past, but you dont want a novel. maybe ill spend the time away thinking of a way to summarize everything._

_i think it might be okay if you sent me a letter to a family friend. i think hell save it for me. ill get it eventually, but shiro and i have to go for a while, and im not too sure where well end up. goodbye for real this time. we leave tomorrow._

_Ulazs address is on the other paper._

_-keith_

 

October 6

Keith :( (I'll find a nickname sometime... just you wait)

              I’m kind of sad that you left. I liked writing to you. I also kinda wish we could be considered friends. I don’t know, I thought we were. Maybe I’m stupid. Actually I think I understand what you were doing, even if you didn’t realize it yourself. I won’t bring it up but I get it, and you don’t have to do that. I’m clingy so you’re gonna have to get used to it.

              Hunk and Pidge are nicknames, but they’re not from me. Everyone calls them those names. I’ll admit that I’m not the best at chemistry, and I did have to look up your ammonium sulfide. A stink bomb? That’s so middle school, and yet if I could get my hands on it, I wouldn’t hesitate :). I don’t know exactly what Hunk and Pidge were using when they caused the explosion, but I do know that whatever was inside the beaker caused it to explode glass everywhere, and the stuff inside got on the ceiling, caught on fire, and caused the sprinklers to go off which caused an electrical fire. It was put out fairly quickly and both Pidge and Hunk played dumb the entire time, but they knew what they were doing. I doubt they meant to cause the electrical fire, but it caused class to be cancelled longer, so no one is hating on it.

              Will you tell me about all the places you’ve been since your last letter?

Lance!

P.s. I put a little dolphin eraser in the envelope so that maybe you could erase the stuff you don’t actually want me to see, or, y’know, you could get another piece of paper and start over???? Jk :)


	2. November 16 to December 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I feel great about this? No. But this is where it's heading, and I think we'll all end up surprised by the time I finish everything :)

_ november 16 _

_ lance, _

_ am i even allowed to still send you these letters? i bet youve forgotten all about me. i probably would have too. it’s been too long. i’m sorry. _

_ i have a question. i’m not exactly sure what you meant by you understood what i was doing. i didnt know i was doing anything. if im being completely honest i dont even remember what i wrote to make you think i meant anything other than exactly what i wrote.  _

_ pidge and hunk sound like the best kind of people. i cant believe they got away with that. _

_ shiro and i were moving around nevada for a while until we could find a new place, and motels are disgusting places. one night some guy knocked on our door at 10 at night and then came back every half hour until 3, and every time we opened the door he booked it. shiro wouldnt let me do anything about it. instead he moved the couch in front of the door so the guy couldnt try to get in. id rather live in a shack with cactus neighbors. _

_ we found a small place though. one bedroom… super cheap considering it was fully furnished, and the couch is a futon. im convinced something bad is gonna happen and i think shiro kinda does too, but it was too good to pass up on. it’s constant for at least a few months though, and no one to stiff the rent on us.  _

_ i just turned 18. i could leave and shiro wouldnt have to worry about me anymore. im not selfish for staying am i? he’s the only constant person in my life and i dont want to give something like that up? but what if he doesnt want to have to worry about me anymore? forget it... _

_ how have you been?  _

_ -keith _

_ ps with this letter alone, half the dolphin is already gone. hell be toast by the end of the month. _

 

November 20

KEITH!!

          I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE BACK!!! I didn’t forget about you. Not at all. In fact I wanted to write more letters to you, but I thought that, you said his name was Ulaz right? Ulaz wouldn’t like to keep several letters addressed to you sitting around his house. You bet I checked the mail every single day the second I got home from school. My mom thought I was finally starting to be helpful around the house, which I totally am, the bathrooms are spotless and the floors are always vacuumed, but she doesn’t see it like that. Probably because my nephews like to do really accurate tornado impressions. 

          I’ve been alright. It’s been the same since September. I helped Hunk apply to his top three dream colleges, and he’s nervous that he won’t get accepted. I’m positive he’ll get three acceptance letters and then he’ll have to worry about which one is the best. I applied to two of the same as him, but something is telling me we’re gonna go to separate colleges, which I’m bummed about, but we’re gonna make the best of the rest of this year and the summer.

          Oh, I also met this really pretty girl at the mall while babysitting my nephew. Toddlers are always going to be at the top of my list for meeting the ladies. She he gave me her number after I bought her a pretzel. My nephew had a little meltdown right after though because he dropped cheese on his “only best ninja turtle shirt he even has” and she left pretty quickly. Her name was Nyma. I haven’t tried to text her yet, but hopefully it goes well when I do.

           I would have cried and called the police if someone knocked on my door like that. I can’t tell if the two of you are brave or stupid for dealing with it like that, and I’m glad that you found a place that works for a while. You seem happier now. Just promise me that you and Shiro will stay safe. I don’t know him, but I assure you that Shiro wouldn’t have gone through all of that moving trouble just to have you move out on him because you legally can. I’m not the only one who wants you to stay safe. 

           Happy Birthday! I’m glad you liked the eraser. :) 

Lance!

  
  


_ november 26 _

_ lance, _

_ you never told me what you thought i was doing. but thanks for everything else. you dont really know me and yet i almost believe you? dont worry about our safety. ive got a knife under my pillow, and shiro could kick the heck out anyone. were pretty safe. _

_ what makes you think youre not going to the same school as hunk? if you applied to the same ones as him, and you think that hes gonna get accepted to them all, then why wouldnt you end up at the same one? unless you dont want to go to those colleges. _

_ i havent really thought about college much. im sure scholarships are an option, but i could never afford it if i even wanted to. i have a job at a garage, but thats not that much and it all goes to us not starving or living without power. maybe one day though. i wouldnt even know what i would want to do. _

_ can i be grumpy for a second? shiro threw my speakers out of the window because i wouldnt turn the music down. theyre not super broken because were on the ground level, but now if the volume anything higher than six the speaker sounds like its possessed. i cant believe he got what he wanted. _

_ hows things with nyma now? _

_ -keith _

  
  


November 30

Keef, 

          (Before I start, I have a feeling this is going to be some sort of serious letter that might upset you, but you asked and so I’ll answer.) 

          It felt like you were trying to distance yourself, like if you didn’t believe we were friends then you wouldn’t lose anything, and maybe you were trying to convince me, but it seemed as if you were more trying to convince yourself. You were trying to believe that you were only writing for me and that none of this was at all for you. Maybe I’m wrong. But it sure felt like that. I’ll bet that you didn’t realize it; that’s why I didn’t bring it up. 

          I don’t want you to do that, or feel like you need to do that.

           If I’m going to be completely honest in this entire letter, I’m just going to admit that maybe I’m just a tiny, eensy, weensy, little, bit, pretty sure that I’m not going to get accepted to the schools Hunk wants to go to. Like, I keep assuring him that we will because he’s really worried about going by himself, but I’m really not so sure at all. That’s why I’ve got to make sure we hang out every possible second we can. Like how we were just on Thanksgiving break and I spent the day before and we snuck out that night to hang out. We invited Pidge too, but she’s too focused on her science project to help assure him that he’d be fine no matter what happens. He has a 4.25 gpa. Did you even know a gpa could be above a 4? 

           Is it bad that I laughed when you said Shiro threw your speakers out of the window? I didn’t imagine him being that kind of person, but he actually sounds really cool, and I totally get when you think of him as your older brother. Marco would do the exact same thing to me.   

           TTFN :)

Lance

 

_ december 4 _

_ lance,  _

_ is that really what i did? ive never really had a decent friend that didnt ditch me before. obviously i had people to eat lunch with at school, but no one that really wanted me to be their friend.  _

_ coming from someone who only knows what youve said about yourself, i can assure you right now, especially from the last advice, explanation, whatever, that youre incredibly smart too and very supportive of your friends. theres more than one kind of smart too yknow. they might be science smart, but you seem people smart, and i think thats just as valuable, if not more, than being able to pass an act with a 36, and its obvious your friends love you.  _

_ are you doing anything on your winter break? shiro said something about people visiting us, but i cant really think of who it might be. we didnt tell anyone, except Ulaz, about our new address.  _

_ -keith _

 

December 10

Keef,

           Heh, sure.

           I’m not really sure what’s happening for Christmas because of my parent’s divorce. My dad doesn’t live with us because he found another place to stay, and it just won’t feel like the holidays without him being there drinking spiked eggnog while yelling at the original Grinch cartoon because Max didn’t deserve all of the abuse. It’s hilarious to see, and I totally agree with him. The Grinch should have had the humane society called on him. He does that every year on Christmas Eve after all the youngest kids go to bed. Of course that’s not what I’m supposed to be talking about.

           My aunt is coming up this year, to help Mamá I guess. Marco and Luis are bringing their whole families like normal, so it’ll still be a full house, but I don’t want my dad alone on Christmas. I wonder if it would be out of line to ask if he can come back for one last time before the divorce is final. I won’t let us watch The Grinch without him.

            Last year all my siblings and I went down to the beach and we tried to build a snowman out of sand like we have since we were kids. It was like a whole science project, we had specific sand to water ratios and the best shells picked out, but every time we got the middle part on the bottom would break underneath. I hope we do that again this year. I had Pidge help me come up with another way to keep the sand together.

          I haven’t found the perfect gifts for Pidge and Hunk yet and it’s driving me crazy. They deserve the world, but I can’t figure out something special. I have exactly 13 days to come up with something because we always have a little pre-Christmas together, and I absolutely cannot show up empty handed. I have to get them the best presents. I ALWAYS DO!

          After I finish writing this letter to you, Mamá thinks I’m doing math homework, we’re gonna start decorating the inside of the house. It already smells like cookies from the kitchen. 

          What about you and Shiro? Any holiday movies?

Lance!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes  
> my ooc senses are tingling :)


	3. December 19 to January 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dear google: how to make myself forget how to capitalize and use apostrophes  
> also dear google: thank you for finally realizing that I dont want to capitalize every single i that I use :)

_ december 19 _

_ lance,  _

_ im not going to mention holiday movies because theres one in particular that i get so heated about that shiro wont let me mention it by name until christmas eve. it is solely a christmas movie and anyone else who says it can be for halloween too is wrong. part of me wants to keep going but i also know that it isnt actually that important. _

_ i never realized the grinch was a terrible...grinch… to max. poor dog. _

_ did you ever decide on hunk and pidges gifts? do you have to get nyma anything too? you never told me how that went. _

_ we are actually thinking of buying a cheap fake tree for the living room. dont tell shiro, but i think im excited for it a little bit. maybe this apartment will feel like home, or maybe someone will break in and steal it. its a surprise really. _

_ that snowman thing is really cute. what if you build a base out of not sand and then build it up around it? thats probably something youve thought of already. youd consider it cheating too probably.  _

_ maybe you and your siblings could surprise your dad on christmas morning if your mom wont let him come over. i feel like youre planning that anyway, but as someone who has been alone on christmas before, even a visit later on during the day can be a huge difference, or christmas eve even. family is important to you. hold onto it no matter how slippery it gets. believe me, youre gonna wish you had if you dont. _

_ -keith _

 

December 29

Keef,

          So the whole Nyma thing didn't work out. I texted her and we talked for a little. She ended up stealing my wallet. Man, the first date I've managed to snatch in months and she just wanted to rob me. Hunk gave me the biggest “I told you so” of my life, mostly because he told me that I shouldn’t have even tried with her in the first place. She was just sooo pretty and sooo nice. Shows what I know. Her gift was the ten dollar bill and three half used Starbucks gift cards in my wallet.

           I got Hunk and Pidge matching friendship bracelets, which doesn’t sound that cool, but they’re personalized and by the time that I decided on the present there was three days left. 

           We surprised my dad on Christmas Day around lunch. I haven’t seen him this happy since they told us about the divorce.  It was actually a really great day, and Mamá even drove us. 

           The sand snowman didn’t work like usual, so we ended up just going to get hot chocolate instead, which was just as good because the hot chocolate didn’t collapse every time we got the head on the top of it. I’m not bitter or anything, I promise. 

           Oh, and Allura and her uncle Coran showed up on the 26th. Last I heard they were up in England, but I guess they flew out to see us just for the holidays. They’re gonna stay until New Years and I’m excited. It’s really nice to have someone else in the house that’s my age. Like obviously we’re all happy and we all have fun together, but my brothers and sister have always had cousins that were their age and I was always kinda pushed out, but when Allura is there it’s always a lot of fun. She has the best stories, and she loves doing face masks with me. It’s always like an extended sleepover. She tells me all the stories of her travels and the stories Coran had told her from all of his journeys. Apparently, the last time he was travelling the plane’s turbine stopped working when they were over the Atlantic, so they had to stop on this small personal airstrip because it was like the only one around where they were, and three owner of the airstrip shot at the plane with a rifle, but they couldn't take off again, so Coran had to work a deal with the guy involving a crystal and his firstborn or something. He told the story better but it was crazy. Allura wasn’t with him then, thank goodness.

           Have I ever mentioned that I really want to travel? There’s so much here, but I want to see other things! Maybe I’ll leave one day and end up in Nevada, and we will accidentally meet. Wouldn’t that be cool? Would it even be the same in real life? It would probably be really awkward. I’d probably hug you though.

          How was your holidays with Shiro? I won’t give my opinion on the movie you watch, but your love for it is actually really cute. I haven’t watched it since Luis’s emo phase like eight years ago,  but I think it has some pretty good songs.

Lance

 

_ january 4 _

_ lance,  _

_ i think even if we did meet, you wouldnt recognize me, and i wouldnt recognize you if i ran over you with my bike. we dont know what each other looks like. _

_ the person who visited us for christmas was shiros friend from college. hes actually a really cool guy, but hes an actual nerd, an aerophysics major, and i can see why he was shiros best friend. they spent the whole week reminiscing about the good old days, and by good old days i mean doing stupid expel worthy things then dodging the dean. my brother isnt as responsible as he tries to make himself out to be. _

_ shiro and i didnt even stay up for new years. he bought sparkling grape juice because he pretends to be put together sometimes and says i cant drink but he literally doesnt care every other day of the year. i dont even really like alcohol, but i hate when he tells me i cant. anyway, we drank all the sparkling grape juice and then fell asleep before 10 on the couch until 6 the next morning when his alarm went off for work. happy new years _

_ im glad you had a really good christmas. you deserved to have one, especially when you put up with me for the last half of the year.  _

_ i guess that makes sense why you didnt talk about nyma anymore. at least you didnt lose too much from your wallet. thats why i dont go on dates anymore, well, that and ~~boys~~  dont ask me. wow. i admitted that to you. no matter how many times i scratch that out, i think youre still gonna be able to read it. heck... whatever i started writing on this paper and i dont feel like copying it to another.  _

_ -keith _

 

January 12

Keef,

          EXCUSE ME? You’re just gonna say that like I’m definitely not going to comment on it? Who do you think you are? Why in the world would you ever think that I’m just putting up with you? I don’t care if it was a joke. I really do like talking to you, even if you don’t want to share anything too personal. I totally get it. 

           So… since you said you’ve dated guys before, does that mean you’re gay? That’s cool, not that you really need my opinion about it. Does Shiro know?

           I know a guy who’s an aerophysics major too! He also is a major freaking nerd. He’s Pidge’s older brother, and he’s just as nerdy as her. I don’t see him too much, but when he’s around, he’s pretty fun. He’s also blown up a few labs. Wouldn’t that be funny if he was the same guy? Pshhh, probably not, but it’d be funny. 

           I bet even though we don’t know what each other looks like, that we’d just have that feeling that we know each other. I’d send you a picture, but I don’t have any recent ones that are printed out. I have short brown hair and blue eyes, a gorgeous face, a heavenly voice, and I’m usually wearing my green jacket. So if you hit me with your bicycle then you’ll know it’s me! 

           Y’know, sometimes when you tell me about Shiro and the things like the knives and the motel room, I wonder about how you both are even still alive. Also, if I so much as looked at alcohol at a party, Mamá would just be able to sense it and I’d be grounded until I’m 21. She’s one of those psychic moms that knows where everything is, and knows when you’ve done something wrong. One time Veronica accidentally broke the lamp in my parent’s room when we were younger, and when Mamá walked into the front door, she was like “Ronnie, how’d you break the lamp?” She wasn’t even home when it happened, but she just knew! Nothing slips past my mom. 

Lance!

 

_ January 17 _

_ Lance, _

_ Shiro yelled at me because he saw the last letter I wrote you before I sent it and he said I didn’t use capitalization. Now he wants to proofread my letters. Which I really don’t want him to do because it’s personal and rude. It’s like he doesn’t trust me or something, which upsets me because I thought in the very least Shiro would trust me, especially after everything that we’ve been through. That and the fact that I’m legally an adult so he shouldn’t even be looking in the first place. Is this something I can call the police for?   _

_ That was really for Shiro, just in case he looks. But hopefully he stops after the line about trusting because you know it’s not his letter, and you’ve never said anything about how I write. _

_ i will admit, that when i started reading your last letter, i was really worried that the first few sentences were about how im gay, and you werent okay with it, but you are, and honestly, im a little relieved. shiro does know, and he also doesnt care, which would be a little hypocritical of him if he did, but were not going to get into it because thats not mine to share.  _

_ im certain our aerophysics majors are not the same person. this guy never mentioned anyone named pidge. i think i would have remembered a name like that, even if its only a nickname. _

_ another thing that i definitely need to make completely clear, when i said bike, i meant motorcycle, not bicycle. i dont ride a bicycle to get around. id rather eat gravel than have to pedal everywhere, and if were both lucky, i wont be going as fast as i usually do when i run you over with it.  _

_ if you ever see someone in a red and white jacket, and black fingerless gloves riding that motorcycle, which is also red, and named appropriately for it, then thats me. im always wearing the gloves, because they were my dads gloves, and i dont have much to remember him by. he died when i was 12. he was also shiros older brother, which is part of the reason why shiros with me now, that among other things. _

_ tell me more about your family please? i know you like talking about them. _

_ -keith _

  
  


January 25

Keef,

           I wasn’t going to mention anything about how you write, because this is you venting to me about things, and I don’t want to restrict your thoughts, but it was kinda nice to see the capitalization… heh. Please don’t get mad. 

           Motorcycle???? You ride a motorcycle and that wasn’t the first thing that you told me about yourself? I love motorcycles. I dream about motorcycles. I bet you’d look great with your hair all helmetie. You may not have told me what you look like exactly, but I can imagine you now riding on the empty desert roads, dust trailing behind because you’re going forty over, and when you pass a billboard at some point, a cop has his speed gun out, and he clocks you at 120mph, but you just look so cool, and he’s ten minutes away from getting off is shift that he lets you go. I daydreamed this in class because I couldn’t read your letter until the passing period before second hour, and second hour is calculus. Bleh. 

           I’m really glad that you have Shiro, and that you’re so close. My oldest brother Marco is thirteen years older than me, so we don’t hang out that much, and Luis is nine years older, so I don’t have the closest relationship with the two of them. I love them to death, but the most I ever really see them is for the holidays because they’ve always been living their own lives. I’ve always been pretty close to Veronica though.

           One time, when we were younger, when we first came to California, we were at the park and we found this cat that we thought was a stray cat. Veronica wouldn’t let us leave it there, because it was so nice. Luis was babysitting us at the time, and being the dumb 17 year old that he was, he made me, a 6 year old, carry this probably rabies infected cat home underneath my shirt. We were able to hide this cat for exactly 0 minutes because I was crying because it was scratching me, but Mamá let us keep it because she thought it was a stray too, and we weren’t able to bring our pets up in the move. We named her Princesa, even though Luis fought for the name Nala, and she loved it at our home, until like three days later when my dad brought home a flyer he’d found at the park of Princesa, actually named Dusty, who wasn’t really a stray, but was just a lost outdoor cat. Veronica was so upset about the cat, because she loved her the most, and I remember her crying for a week about her, until Mom caved and we got another one from the shelter. She’s 11 years old, but she’s still lively and brings home dead snakes all the time. Veronica named the new cat Blue because she has the prettiest blue eyes we’d ever seen. I love everything about her but her hair, which is on and in everything. I’ve had it in my cereal before. Dis-gus-ting! 

          Do you have any pets?

Lance

P.s. I forgot to mention, No one but me and Hunk call Pidge by Pidge. Her real name is Katie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i sure do love projecting onto characters that aren't mine :)  
> also i work a lot this week at 6 in the morning, like from now until next friday, and I'm hoping to update sometime during the week, but I might also be napping instead, so who knows...  
> thank you :)


	4. February 1 to March 11

_ february 1 _

_ lance, _

_ i dont have time for capitalization. not for shiro, not for you. i actually just like the aesthetic. _

_ the name katie doesnt ring a bell, but then again, i dont really pay much attention when he visits. _

_ you didnt even say anything about me telling you about my dad, which actually was a relief. i thought maybe your whole letter would be about how id suddenly opened up about something and now you get to make a big deal over it. _

_ perhaps youll do it this time when i answer your pet question. i had a dog when i was younger. my mom picked her out when she was pregnant with me and agreed with my dad to name her yorak. it was a compromise because thats what she was going to name me. thank god for this dog. she was pretty much my best friend for the first few years of my life. she was amazing at fetch and hide and seek. well, she wasnt the best at the hiding part, but she could seek like a champion. i miss her. _

_ maybe shiro will let us get a pet since this place seems like its actually working out.  _

_ now that i think about it, when we first started living together, shiro made me help him pick out a fish, maybe he thought it would help the situation, i dont know, he tried. anyway i was never where i was supposed to be, at home, and he just has a terrible memory, so the fish didnt live too long. poor mr. gills. shiro came up with that name. _

_ i doubt im anything like your weird motorcycle daydream, although i live in a constant state of helmet hair even though i tie it back. its annoying. if my brother even thought i was going ten over the speed limit hed take the keys so fast, but i do go as fast as i want on this backstreet a few minutes outside of town. i dont think anyone else drives the street, but now that ive told you im probably gonna get pulled over the next time im on it.  _

_ -keith _

 

February 7 

Keef, 

           This is an important life or death kind of question that requires a completely honest answer. If you tie your hair back, then that means that it must be long...can you braid it? 

           This one is an actual serious question. Do you think that if I made a big deal about you opening up to me that you would tell me anything of that nature ever again? Because I honestly doubt that you would. I mean, on the inside when I read that kind of stuff, I’m literally screaming, but I want to know you in a way that makes you comfortable. Anyway, done with all that serious stuff. Let's talk about some happy :)

          You dodged a hecking bullet with that dog. I could be talking to Yorak Whateveryourlastnameis and all I can say to that is YIKES! I wish we had a dog sometimes, but I’m probably leaving for college in the fall, and I couldn’t just get a dog and then leave. 

          Speaking of, I’m applying for scholarships right now, and writing essays is really hard. What kind of scholarship asks you to write about how you plan on influencing your future career? What does financial freedom mean to you? I don’t hecking know! I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I’ve barely had a job for three months, and I still don’t understand taxes. Hunk’s helping me with this stuff. He’s already written several essays for scholarships. I know I’ve mentioned how smart he is, but he’s honestly a genius, but not one of those “I’m better than you” geniuses. He’s genuinely a nice guy, and I love him to death.

          Ahh! I meant to talk about some happy...Uh… do you have a valentine this year? I don’t. My school does this thing where you can buy people roses and the student council will go to classrooms and give them to whoever you bought them for. It seems like a really cute idea, and I’ve bought tons of roses for Hunk and Pidge and other girls in the past, and I’ve gotten some myself, but it doesn’t seem all that fair. Imagine watching other people in every class period get roses but you. Does your school do that or is mine just like to give all the popular people more validation?

          Dang that got sad too... I better stop while I’m ahead. :))))))))

Lance

 

_ february 18 _

_ lance, _

_ are you okay? _

_ no i didnt have a valentine. ive never had a valentine so why would i start now. i did find this really cool lizard on the way home from school on the 14th though. i wanted to keep it because it had little blue scales on its head and for some reason it made me think of you,, probably because of the pet thing. shiro made me leave it outside. _

_ my school doesnt do that flower thing. maybe just a california thing because it sounds like a waste. i for sure wouldnt have gotten a rose from anyone. _

_ thank you for not going over the top about any of it. i dont think you would have scared me away because i honestly expected it to happen, but the fact that you respected that, and i didnt have to tell you means a lot. your friends sure are lucky to have you. i mean, i guess were friends, so i too am also lucky to have you. _

_ i would never ever braid my hair, but i guess if i really thought about it, it could probably be braided if someone tried to do it. not that i would let anyone do that. _

_ im sorry this letter is so short. i just dont really have that much to say lately and it was verging on two weeks without my response. _

_ -keith _

 

February 27

Keith!

           I’m absolutely perfect! I don’t know why you’d ask that.

           If I ever actually do meet you for some reason, I would definitely braid your hair, even if you say you don’t want it. I bet you can’t stop thinking about doing it now. You seem stubborn enough to not do it out of spite, but it’ll happen eventually, don’t you freaking worry.

           I can’t believe Shiro wouldn’t let you keep the lizard! If it reminded you of me, then I bet it was a very handsome lizard. You said you didn’t have a valentine, but that handsome lizard is telling me otherwise! Maybe if you get like a setup for the lizard, like a tank and some lizard food, Shiro would think you’re super responsible enough to keep the next lizard you find.

           I was babysitting my nephew the other day. He’s six, and he loves to color. I’d be willing to bet money that he’s going to be some kind of artist in the future. Anyway, we were sitting at the dining room table coloring animals. He went to the farm for a field trip and saw pigs, and I guess he just fell in love with them, so now everything he talks about and looks at is pigs, pigs, pigs. So he’s coloring a pig, obviously, but I notice he’s grabbed a grey to color the pig instead of pink, which is really weird, but then I started thinking about it, and I asked him about other colors like greens and browns and reds, and I think he’s colorblind. It’s so funny to me how he’s seven, in his prime color learning years, when kids are so honest about everything, and no one noticed that he was colorblind. It’s actually really cool, and he’s just gotten really good at recognizing the colors that he does know, and the things we’ve all taught him that I doubt he even realizes that his colors are different from everyone elses. I wonder how difficult that’ll be for him in the future. Right now, all his pigs could be grey until he can read the labels on the crayons.

Lance!

 

_ march 3 _

_ lance, _

_ theres something that i think about a lot and then i go into existential crisis mode. what if my greens arent the same as your greens? we were all taught that the grass is green, but what if the green i see is the same color that youve associated with purple? or that the sky is blue, but your blue is the same as what i think is orange? its similar to the whole color blind thing like how your nephew sees greys and pinks the same, he just knows that those greys might also mean pink. i think its so mind blowing. _

_ i think i need to reiterate that telling each other whats bothering us is supposed to be mutual. i get the feeling somethings not okay, and i want you to feel like you can tell me things. _

_ ill tell you something that bothered me today at work. this guy called us and asked us if we could tell what was wrong with his car. so i told him hed have to make an appointment but we could probably be able to tell what the problem is because its a garage. he told me he didnt have the time to make an appointment and then theres muffling over the phone and then nothing more than the sound of an engine. he put the freaking phone up to his car and asked me to figure out the problem. i hung up on him. he called back and got my manager, and i got in trouble because hes the idiot. if i get in trouble one more time i have to find another job. _

_ shiros probably right about me not having a lizard. between work and school, id probably forget about it like he did with mr. gills. but maybe not if it was a handsome lizard like you. _

_ -keith _

  
  


March 11

Keith

           While your color theory sounds impressive, all I’m getting is that you see the grass purple and the sky is orange, but I doubt that’s right. I’m not a hundred percent sure I believe you. Pink is pink is pink, or in my nephew’s case pink is grey.

           Gosh, your work story reminded me of the woman at my work. So I work stocking produce in a grocery store, but I had to cover for the bakery because they have next to no coverage, and I gave this woman her cake order, which was done beautifully and exactly how it was written down on the order sheet, but she said it was nothing like it and the party was ruined. Like, dang, Steffanie, wouldn’t it just be easier to just say you want a free cake instead of making me, a little produce boy who doesn’t even touch cakes, have to deal with your bs? She’s done this at least five other times to the bakery workers, just because she wants free cakes. 

          Ooh, or the time this couple literally fought me about opening one of those one pound bags of limes so they could get a pound of the single limes, but it literally would have been cheaper for them to get the one pound bag of limes, and like I can’t open those bags because they come like that and they’re sold like that. Customers just feel so entitled, but when you’re dealing with food, I think the customer is never right because there’s so many restrictions and rules we have to follow that anything they request probably isn’t technically safe. I love my job, but oh my gosh.

          I was hoping that the more I wrote, the less room I’d have to tell you about how the divorce is finalized, and my dad came and got all of his things out of the house, and his old car that you can’t even drive is gone from the garage, and his coffee mugs aren’t in the cup cabinet, and the can of shaving cream, his razor, and his toothbrush isn’t in the bathroom anymore, and the house just feels like it’s missing something. He hadn’t lived with us since December, but I think I was still kind of holding onto the hope that they would get back together, because they hadn’t fought once since they told us they were getting a divorce. I know it’s better for them, and it’s better for the family, but they didn’t start to fight until after Marco and Luis left, and I know it’s not my fault, but I wonder if there was more that I could’ve done to help them try to work things out. Maybe I could’ve spent more time at home and less time with Hunk and Pidge, or I could’ve tried harder to get a better ACT score so I could show them that they were still really good at raising children with realistic dreams instead of wanting to study space even though I suck at chemistry and probably won’t get into the college that has the best study program and just happens to be Hunk’s second choice college . Acceptance letters-- rejection letters-- are supposed to be sent out this month. I’m so scared that I’m going to disappoint everyone.

Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i get so happy every time I think about shiro :)
> 
> I have plans to add texting and dialogue without physical descriptions, but I want to know if y'all think it'd be a bad idea. I mean, the story's already strayed away from where I thought it was going, so anything is fair game at this point.


	5. March 18 to April 23

_ march 18 _

_ lance, _

_ i know what its like to come home to an empty feeling house, and its not a great feeling. its actually the worst feeling, and i dont want you to think that im discounting your feelings, because im not, and i never would, your feelings about all of this are completely valid and important, but your dad is still there. i assume you could go visit him if you wanted. your mom is still there, and theyre both attempting, again, im assuming, to heal so all of you can be happy again. your siblings are there going through this with you, and im sure theyre all feeling some amount of “this is my fault”.  _

_ absolutely none of this is your fault. its not your fault that youre a kid, and being with your friends is important to you. its not your fault that you didnt attempt to intervene in the things that they argued over. that was never your job. its not your fault that youre different from your siblings. its not your fault that youd rather study space than be a business major or something, whatever it is that theyre doing, and disappointing anyone is not something that you need to worry about because perhaps if youd chosen to give up, or act out, or be rude --once again i dont know you outside of these letters so maybe you have. it doesnt seem like you would, but i dont know-- then youd have a reason to worry you disappointed everyone. _

_ to me, its always sounded like youve done the best you can possibly do for you, what youre capable of doing, and to even think about your personal best being the reason anyone is disappointed makes me incredibly upset because youve helped me in more ways than you can imagine and i havent hardly told you anything about my past or the things shiro and i have to worry about now. and it helps because i know deep down you would love to hear about all of it. _

_ everything about you seems so incredibly good, and this is just a hard time right now, but i think youre strong enough to handle it. even if you dont think so, i know so.    
-keith _

 

March 24

Keith,

         I love Hunk. There’s so many things about him that are amazing, and he’s so kind and nice, but the one thing I don’t think he’s the best at is comforting people when they’re truly upset. I think he could tell something’s been up with me lately, but because of all of this college stuff and him being nervous, I decided I shouldn’t bother him too much about the divorce and how I feel about it. He’s comforted me through messy breakups, none that meant much in retrospect, and when Nyma stole my wallet, or when I got sent to the principal’s office in middle school because I was yelling at some kid that made fun of Hunk. One thing he can do is make me feel better about the little things. He’s never been able to make me feel like how your letter did. I don’t think I 100% believe you, but thank you.

         Speaking of Hunk, he got his letters in the mail today. He hasn’t opened them yet because he doesn’t want to do it without me. All three are thick which obviously means he got in, but he’s still nervous. I went to work directly after school, I’m writing this on my break, doesn’t this stationary feel so low quality? and then I’m straight to his house, so I don’t know if I got any letters yet. No one texted me from home anyway. I’ll probably drop this letter off at the post office before I go to Hunk’s, so I’ll keep you updated in the next letter. It’ll be kinda like a to be continued… Hopefully it’s good news. 

          Since I’m at work, I want to tell you what happened today that made me need to go on my break early because I hate customers. This older woman, normally I love old people, but this woman had the grapes on a scale, and she was checking the weight, and then she would eat a few grapes and check the weight again. Normally I wouldn’t say anything, but this was happening for like ten minutes, so I said something, and she snapped at me because all of the bags were too heavy and she only needed a quarter pound of grapes, but I told her it was stealing, and if she didn’t stop I’d have to call the manager. She told me to anyway without any explanation, so I did it. When the manager came she instantly threw a fit because apparently I was the one who told her she had to eat all the grapes if she wanted a quarter pound, and that she didn’t feel well anymore because she’d eaten half a pound of grapes in ten minutes, so she should be reimbursed for the entire shopping trip, a full cart of all name brand. Of course they said no, but they could give her a discount on the grapes. I checked after she left, and we definitely had a bag that was a quarter pound, but whatever. I still have three hours left :( I might just spend that time organizing the back room. All I want to do is go home, take a bath, use a destressing facemask, and go to bed. 

           How are you and Shiro? You haven’t said too much about you recently. 

Lance

  
  


_ april 2  _

_ lance, _

_ im sure youve already opened your letter, but im crossing my fingers for you. if it makes you feel any better, i havent even applied to a college yet. its always in the back of my mind, but i dont really think about it. i ment to ask ages ago, but what school is it that you applied to? i tried to look up space programs but all i got was nasa.  _

_ i really wish i knew what to tell you about shiro and me lately. not much has really happened, and honestly, its not a bad thing.  _

_ i bought ice cream home the other day, which i shouldnt have because im lactose intolerant, because i had the evening off and i thought id be alone. he wont let me have it otherwise. turns out he called in to work to spend the evening with me, which we havent done in ages. we ordered in pizza, watched a movie. i beat him at mario kart and he cursed worse than a sailor. the joke is that im not even that good at mario kart. he fell asleep early, and i thought maybe id get to eat my ice cream before bed, but when i looked in the freezer it wasnt there. he threw it in the trash. im not sure what i want to do for revenge, but ill get him soon. id tell him to sleep with one eye open, but we kinda already do that anyway. maybe ill stick a magnet on his arm that he cant reach, or put some dye in his shampoo to make his white streak pink. maybe im not good at revenge. _

_ the other day at breakfast, he was half asleep over a bowl of cereal but he was laughing to himself. i asked him what was so funny and he told me the worst joke. what do you call magician dog? a labracadabrador. i left for school earlier than normal. okay, so maybe i also had to make up a test too, but dont tell shiro that. i cant let him think that its okay to tell bad jokes like that. i think he needs to take more days off. _

_ -keith _

 

April 11

Keef,

          I snorted. I literally actually snorted because of the stupid labracadabrador in the middle of calculus. My teacher got mad at me “Lance do you want to share what’s funnier than the derivatives we’re doing right now?” “Labracadabrador” I got detention. So thank Shiro for that. Actually, I’m writing this in detention. It’s definitely not the first time I’ve been here, but the first where I’m not bored out of my mind. 

          If you want revenge then you should talk to Pidge. One time I accidentally stepped on a piece for her robotics project a week before midterms and she erased every single vowel from all of my study sheets, hacked into both my phone and laptop and caused the vowels to turn into the crying laughing emoji. I guess I should be glad that she didn’t remove every single piece of lead from all of my pencils, including the wooden ones, like she did Hunk. Another time this guy said something, I can’t remember what though, and she made it so his locker played Never Give You Up once every seventh time he opened his locker. It was so dumb that it was hilarious. I’m a little bit confused why and how a magnet would stick to Shiro’s arm, and why that would be revenge, but do you Boo.

          Okay, I've been stalling. I know the only reason you're reading this letter is to see if I got accepted into the accredited Galaxy Garrison just like Hunk, and guess what? They actually said YES! I'm actually accepted into the same college that my best friend got into, and I get to study space. I’ve never been so relieved. I still can't believe It!

          Thanks for believing in me when I couldn't. :)

Lance 

  
  


_ april 19 _

_ lance, _

_ congratulations! i knew you would make it in! i cant believe youre going to be attending the same exact college that shiro did. even i know how difficult it was for him to get in, so i can understand where all your stress was coming from. remember that you made it. you deserve to be there. keep a lookout for any pictures of a takashi shirogane in the hallways and take pictures of all of them so you can print them out and mail them to me. i need to tape them around the apartment. he always told me that he thought id do well there but i think im probably more of a trade school type of person.  _

_ so im not going to tell you what happened, but i thought for sure id mentioned that shiro has a metal prosthetic arm. imagine a dumb texas shaped magnet stuck to the back of his arm. maybe thats only me.  _

_ we only have a month before graduation. this started out as us only talking because of my counselor. are we going to continue into the summer? i mean, i dont want to stop talking to you. i actually, as much as id hate to admit it to my counselor, really do like talking to you. i just thought with finals and getting ready for college, there might not be that much time to write anymore. _

_ pidge sounds like someone i actually would want to be friends with. i cant believe she didnt get in trouble for the locker prank. is she just that lucky? _

_ -keith _

_ ps youre back to calling me keef… i didnt know that id miss it. i feel like you need a nickname too. _

 

April 25

Keef, I knew you’d miss it ;), 

           THE ACTUAL TAKASHI SHIROGANE IS YOUR BROTHER??? A legend! Oh wow! I can’t believe this! He sounds like such a nerd! Labracadabrador only makes him even cooler than he was before. This is the best news of my life!

          Sorry… Pidge would probably come up with some really cool revenge things with you. She’s so good at hacking, I bet she could rig something up with the magnetic fields and stuff to make All Star or something go off every time he raises his prosthetic arm up a little bit too high or something. She comes up with the weirdest stuff. I’m honestly a little scared of what she can do. She’s said multiple times that she’s tried to hack the FBI database, but I don’t know how legal that really is. She said something about the government trying to keep mothman a myth so we don’t know the truth. I think, like Shiro, she needs some sleep. What would the FBI have anything to do with the Mothman anyway? It’s really gonna be awful when Hunk and I go away to college and leave Pidge behind. Hopefully she graduates early so she can join us faster. Then we can be like the Garrison Trio or something, if that’s even where she wants to go.

           Hunk and I are throwing a graduation party together. His moms are letting us throw a big party in their house, and I’m going to invite literally everyone because I want it to be the best party of the year. I wish you could come. It would make graduation even more exciting, and we could add your name to the party invitations. I hope it doesn’t rain on the day we’re supposed to walk. The gym is definitely too small for my class size, and the rain would ruin the photo quality of all the pictures my parents are going to take of me in my cap and gown.

          I definitely want to continue talking to you throughout summer and into college. I look forward to these letters more than I do my own paychecks, and that’s saying a lot. Since things will be getting more intense with all the tests and the college anxiety, I was wondering if maybe you’d want to have my cell phone number so we could text in case of emergencies, or in case we’re bored or something. You definitely don’t have to do anything with my number if you dont want to. I don’t want to make anything weird. 

Lance, you’ll never find anything that fits :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sleepy and i didn't proofread this so yikes.  
> also ive never played mario kart in my life... and the labracadabrador made me so happy that i cried. probably because ive been exhausted lately.  
> here's to lancey lance and how much i love him. which is a whole lot! :)


	6. April 27 to May 18

April 27 3:13 p.m.

**Keith:** Hey… here’s my number back

**Lance:** :D I was so worried you wouldn’t text me

**Keith:** I was worried I had the wrong number tbh

**Lance:** Nope, it’s me! 

**Lance:** its kinda weird to see you using capital letters

**Keith:** I’m too lazy to correct the autocorrect

**Lance:** I respect that

 

_ april 29 _

_ lance, _

_ i want you to never associate the word cool with shiro ever again. sure some of the things hes done are impressive, but nothing about him can possibly considered synonymous with cool. believe me. _

_ mothman is the only thing i trust with my entire being. why else would he try to protect people from disasters? the government just doesnt want us to realize that mothman knows what they’re doing, but he knows and we know that he knows. tell pidge that her work is invaluable. _

_ okay, consider that we end up texting a lot, do you think that we would still write letters as often? i know i told you already that i was nervous to text you because what if it wasnt you that i was texting. i checked at least 8 times if i put the number in correctly before i texted you. also i want to apologize now because im not really used to people texting me except shiro, so if i dont reply right away thats me forgetting someone actually wants to talk to me. _

_ shiro always keeps the sound on on his phone, but the walls in our place are thin, and someone texts him a lot in the middle of the night. perhaps if he didnt have the worst text alert i wouldnt mind. who even texts someone that late? i think thats why hes always half asleep in his cheerios. do you think hed hate me if i snooped? obviously this person is important if they text at three in the morning, but i have no idea who it could possibly be.  _

_ i guess i havent really thought much about the fact that were already almost in may, and time is an illusion. im still deciding whether i want to request the day we actually graduate off, or if i dont actually want to walk at all. im sure shiro wouldnt mind, and hed take the day off too, but it doesnt really matter to me. im getting the diploma no matter what. id rather just get paid instead of sitting through a ceremony for a bunch of kids i dont know and who dont know me. its cool that youre walking though, not that i ever thought you wouldnt. also i doubt itll rain, is rain even something that happens in california? your pictures will definitely turn out perfectly.  _

_ parties arent really my thing, but id probably show up for at least five minutes at yours if i could, just to see what the best party of the year looks like. why would you want to add my name to the invitation though? no one knows me. not one person would say “well, i wasnt gonna go to lance and hunks party, but since keith is going then i guess i cant miss it”. its nice of you to want to include me though. i think if i threw a party, id leave right after it started and no one would realize that i wasnt there anymore. thats the kind of kids i go to school with.  _

_ -keith. _

 

May 5

Keef, 

          Of course we’ll still keep writing. To be honest it’s one of my favorite things to do. Even Hunk’s kinda jealous that he doesn’t have a letter friend. Don’t worry, I haven’t told him anything about you. He just knows that you exist and that I like writing to you.

          If your name was on my invitations, people would just assume that you’re really cool and would 100% show up to meet the cool new kid, even if you did only show up for a few minutes. The party’s not until the end of the month though, so I shouldn’t really be worrying about it too much. First I have to deal with prom which is next weekend. I asked this really pretty girl that’s in my calculus class. She also got job at my work in the bakery about a month ago, so I get to see her all the time. We’re just friends though, which is fine, but I think I really like this girl a lot. She has long hair dyed blue and the prettiest eyes, and she’s so nice. Her name’s Plaxum, and I can’t wait to see what dress she’s wearing. All I know is that it’s gonna be green, which I think is a weird choice, but I bet it’ll look great. I’m planning on inviting her to our graduation party too, but she works most evenings, so I don’t know if she’ll be able to get the time off.  

         You only graduate high school once, and walking isn’t that important, but didn’t you already pay for a cap and gown? You could spend the evening with Shiro, because you said you don’t really get to hang out that much, and it could turn into a really nice evening. Money’s nice, but isn’t spending time with your family important too? I bet Shiro’s really proud of you, and he probably wants to see you walk.

         Speaking of Shiro, who will still be cool to me no matter what you say, I’ve looked up to him for too many years. Do not snoop to see who he’s texting! Either you’re gonna see things you don’t want to see, or he’s gonna find out and get really mad at you, or both. I’m speaking from experience here. One time Veronica mentioned how it bothered her that her best friend was always ditching her, and the one time they did get to hang out I snooped even when she didn’t ask, and I thought I’d figured out that her best friend was spending a little more time with my sister’s boyfriend than was friendly. It was a whole mess after I told Veronica, and it turns out that it wasn’t actually that he was really her step brother the whole time, and I didn’t realize. I don’t know. Just don’t snoop. The last thing I think you want is for Shiro to be mad at you. Just ask him about it.

         On a last note, I don’t understand Mothman, so I’ll just have to trust you on that one. 

Lance! 

 

_ may 13 _

_ lance,  _

_ its friday the thirteenth, and that pretty much sums up how my day has gone. i dont know the kids i go to school with that well. ive mentioned it a lot, but what i dont understand is how they can find things out about me that ive never told anyone here. why would i mention that my mom just disappeared one day and my dad died in a fire to people i dont know or trust, and how in the hell did they figure it out? _

_ this kid has been calling me names the entire time ive been here. im sure you can imagine what hes saying because im not gonna write it. ive put up with this for months on end, and not once has he strayed from the name calling and the casual verbal abuse, but somehow he suddenly knows about my personal life? at this school ive been good. i didnt even get detention once the entire time ive been here, even though it hasnt really been all that long. to make a long story short, he got off free, ive got iss for three days, and shiros not mad at he, hes just disappointed. i get it, i really do, because he had to come get me from school, even though im 18, and i have overreacted in the past, but i really think this kid deserved it this time.  _

_ i guess youre right about me paying for a cap and gown, so i should go, and the idea of just having the night off sounds amazing.  _

_ i wont snoop in his phone. i wasnt really considering it. shiro will tell me who it is when he wants to. i cant believe you would actually look through someones phone like that.  _

_ also i absolutely hate texting people first. i always feel like im gonna bother them if i do it. so if you want to save me from boredom in iss im not saying you should text me, but i wouldnt mind sneaking off to the bathroom. _

_ -keith _

 

May 17 11:26

**Lance:** Hows iss going?

**Keith:** Boring as usual

**Lance:** They didnt take phone hostage?

**Keith:** There’s like 8 kids here no one cares

**Keith:** The teacher doesn’t even want to be here

**Lance:** I don’t think you should be there that kid had it coming

**Keith:** I just don’t get how he found out.

**Lance:** At least you won’t have to deal with him in a few weeks

**Lance:** and if you deck him after that he’ll probably charge you for assault and then you’ll go to jail

**Keith:** Thanks you’re so helpful

**Lance:** Glad to be of service :)

**Keith:** :p I’ve got to go before they think i ditched

 

May 18

Keef!

         I realized that I don’t actually know much about you. I mean, I know things, but like, not things that aren’t so personal to know. So I’m gonna make a list of questions. 

         Favorite color?

         Favorite food?

         Favorite person? 

         Fears?

         (I’m running out of questions… it’s two in the morning don’t judge me)

         Favorite animal?

         What does your face look like?

         I bet you look nothing like I imagine. Is that weird? I’ve decided that it isn’t, of course I’m sleep deprived, I’ve been up for 53 hours, so if it is weird then it’s not my fault. 

         Have you ever painted your nails? 

         Okay I’m done prying into your life.

          In my defense for the whole snooping thing, I was 11 and didn’t actually realize I was doing anything wrong. Veronica didn’t talk to me for an entire week because of it, and I hate when people are mad at me. I get really annoying trying to get people to stop being mad at me and it usually makes them more mad. I don’t recommend making people mad if you can help it. 

         Prom was wonderful if you were wondering. I don’t know if you really were. You didn’t mention your own prom, so I assumed that you just weren’t going. Plax looked really pretty in her dress. It was all sequins, and she looked like an actual princess. I don’t know how you feel about love, but I’ve gotten super attached to her in this last month, and I actually think it might be going somewhere. I’m excited.

                  Lance! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not posting, my coworker got me into stardew valley and now i have a cute doctor husband and less of a social life than i did before.  
> also i looked up mothman for this chapter and i still dont really get it.  
> Im also dedicating the song Be The One by Dua Lipa to this fic bc its wonderful 


	7. May 22 to June 22

May 22, 9:18 p.m.

**Keith:** You've slept since you wrote the letter right? 

**Lance:** yeah I slept for a few hours after writing the letter. 

**Lance:** just stress induced insomnia. I'm good. 

**Keith:** Finals?

**Lance:** among other things.  I probably won't sleep tonight. 

**Keith:** You need to sleep

**Lance:** -.- I know that.

**Keith:** Sorry…

**Lance:** For what?

**Keith:** You seemed mad. Idk. Sorry.

**Lance:** I wasn’t lol don’t worry.

**Keith:** Oh

**Lance:** You’re still worrying stop that!

**Keith:** Sorry

**Lance:** stop saying sorry!

**Keith:** Go to sleep.

**Lance:** What teenager goes to bed before 10?

**Keith:** Apparently not you.

**Keith:** :P I’ll stay up with you.

**Lance:** You don’t have to do that. Please don’t do that. Keefs need their sleep.

**Keith:** So do Lances.

 

_ may 23 _

_ lance, _

_ red, i dont know if i really have a favorite food, shiro, losing shiro, hippos, and im not sending a picture. sorry. should i paint my nails? your turn.  _

_ did i help you at all? i know you stopped responding, but it got pretty late. way too late if you have finals. i wonder if well graduate on the same day. we walk on the 25 and finals finished last friday. i doubt youll get this letter by then though. once school is over youre gonna sleep right? _

_ our school lets out early after we take two finals so i decided to pull 12 hours at the garage on wednesday, and then study for my next two finals afterwards. i went to bed around 3 in the morning, and i ended up falling asleep during my english final. oops. hopefully i passed.  _

_ shiros texting has gotten even worse, and sometimes they have full on conversations at 4 in the morning. im beginning to wonder if this person is even in our timezone or theyre both risking their sleep schedules to have a “secret” whatever the heck it is. hes lucky the walls muffle the sound of his voice so i cant hear what theyre saying. all i can say is that i hope he actually likes who hes talking to because he needs someone to hang out with that isnt 8 years younger than he is. someone adultier and less… difficult. _

_ -keith. _

 

June 1

Keef!

         Sorry for not answering. There was a whirlwind of people coming over to my house, summer break for everyone, graduation, the whole party. It’s been a mess, and I’ve just been way too exhausted people wise to anwer. I’m ready now though.

         You actually really did help me sleep. I don’t know how you did it, but thank you for that. It’s nicer to have someone to be up with because most of the time I really get into my head. Although I do think you should have gone to bed sooner, but from the timeline you gave me, I think you were already done with school, maybe. I don’t know how other school districts work.

         I have to answer them? Ugh. These are trash questions too.

         Blue, garlic knots, it’s probably a tie between Hunk and Mam á , she hasn’t been home a lot lately and I dunno where she is. Being alone, sharks, and if I don’t get to see your face then you don’t get to see my beautiful face ;). Yes, yes you should definitely paint your nails. Veronica brought home some mood nail polish, and I know it just reacts to your body temperature, but it’s always at this really pretty shade of blue that my sister can’t seem to reach for some reason. Her’s are always a gross greenish orange color. As long as you send it back, I’ll send it with the letter, but don’t tell Veronica or she’ll kill me.  

         Now that high school is over, there’s this weird void inside me. Like, I should be stressed out and working on something, but there’s nothing. I mean, I don’t hate it, but it’s kind of making me antsy. That’s why I can’t wait to work in the evenings. Well, that and I get to see Plax.

         I hope Shiro tells you soon, because now you’ve got me invested in whatever it is that’s going on. 

         I got a few pictures of my cat printed out. The other day, Mam á and I were baking a cake for my family and we heard a noise upstairs, so we went to look thinking maybe the cat got into something, but actually the window was open and a bird got in. When we got back to the kitchen, Blue was licking all the icing off of the cake and she was covered in the batter because she’d walked over the sink where the messy bowls were. It was actually the worst, but now that it’s over, it was kinda funny. I thought maybe you’d like to see them. 

        Allura and Coran are coming back for the first few weeks of summer break. I can’t wait to tell you all of the stories they tell me. 

                  Lance!

_ june 9 _

_ lance, _

_ im magical. thats how i got you to sleep. magic!  would you believe that when i was twelve i had a magic phase? its so embarrassing, and its usually one of the first things shiro tells people about me. i just thought the kits were cool. _

_ im just gonna say it. im in love with blue. shes the cutest thing in the entire world, and if i didnt live a state over, id probably try to steal her. _

_ so i started talking to shiro a little about who it is that he could be talking to. ive narrowed it down to either being someone that he works with or someone he used to know and theyre catching up. i know a lot about shiro, but i dont really know too much about the people he hung out with before becoming my guardian, besides his friend Matt from school, the one i told you about, but hes not talking to him secretly. _

_ i actually did a terrible job with the nail polish, but i really like it. youre right about the blue though. i put an iced cube on my finger and it turned this really cool shade of red. didnt last long, because im alive, but i wonder how itd look if it got hotter than our body temperature. im not gonna test it, but i think that color might be cool too. if its not returned with this letter, then its 1000% the post offices fault and not mine. _

_ -keith. _

 

June 15

KEITH!

         You’re a wizard Keithy! Sorry… I couldn’t help it. I’m crying! You’re funny. 

         You didn’t mention before that Shiro’s friend’s name was Matt… as in Matt Holt? As in the exact same Matt that I’ve been friends with since becoming friends with his little sister? I had to ask him the second I read Matt in your letter, and I’m beginning to the the world is a little smaller than I thought it was.

        I knew you’d like the nail polish. Also, it says flammable, so I think if the temperature got too hot, there wouldn’t be a color anymore, but I tried the ice cube, and that red is pretty cool. :)

        Okay, so Hunk went to visit the garrison because he has this program that he’s doing, similar to the same program Matt was doing, and he needed to go to a meeting, and he met this girl there named Shay, and he sent me so many pictures of them hanging out, and he’s completely enamoured in just a few days. He’s never had a girlfriend, and I’m so excited for him if this goes somewhere. They’re gonna work together all year because of the program, and I can already see her fitting in great with me and Pidge. It’s so good! 

       The possibility of them getting together makes me want to ask Plax out. I feel like she’d say yes because she’s really flirty with me, and she actually listens to me when we have conversations instead of half listening like the other people I work with, and she makes me feel like she cares. Gosh, I really want this to work out, and then me and Hunk can go on double dates. That’s the dream reality right there! 

       Coran and Allura went up to Alaska to spend a month before settling back at their usual place so Allura could finish school with little stress, and apparently she stepped on a sea urchin on accident, but it was a really big one. I’ve stepped on little ones before out in the tide pools, and they freaking hurt, but I can’t imagine stepping on a big one, on accident, how did she miss it? Also, they went hiking up in moose territory, and his guide didn’t really know where they were going, even though he was a guide? And I guess they stumbled right in front of a couple of bulls who went crazy. Thankfully they’re okay, but it sounded scary. This trip was a little tame compared to the last few, but I’m sure now that Allura’s out of school, they’ll get into even more mischief. She’s interested in going into the same line of business as him, but I’m not even sure what they do besides find themselves in dangerous situations. 

         I’m still laughing at magician Keith. I can only imagine. That sounds adorable to be honest. 

                  Lance!

June 22 6:32 p.m. 

**Lance:** She quit

**Keith:** Who quit what?

**Lance:** Plax quit at my work

**Lance:** she didn’t even say goodbye

**Lance:** she showed up for a shift, talked to management because she had a habit of coming in late, and i guess she just quit. I thought maybe they fired her because she wouldn't just leave like that

**Keith:** I’m sorry

**Lance:** you never said anything about her, so I don’t think you really cared, but this hurts worse than any of my breakups.

**Keith:** Its not that I didn’t care…

**Keith:** she sounded like a good person

**Lance:** she is! She actually felt like she cared, and it just sucks bc we werent even dating

**Lance:** I shouldnt feel like this.

**Keith:** Don’t invalidate yourself. She led you on.

**Lance:** but she didn’t… I don’t know… i feel like you dont understand and I dont know how to explain it.

**Keith:** Straight relationships confuse me, but I’ve got all the time in the world if you want to try

**Lance:** well, I don’t know about that, but thanks

**Lance:** can i start from the beginning?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boring? boring.  
> plax... brought to you by a boy who did the same thing to me without the prom thing  
> i promise there will be less lance problems and more happy stuff and more keith things  
> also i think my letters are getting shorter. I'll fix it next time. no excuses :)   
> thank you for still reading this


	8. June 23 to July 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was updated on my tablet so if it's weird I really tried but I'm not familiar with the whole setup. Also I don't proofread my chapters bc I'm the worst :)

June 23

Keef! 

         I know you never responded to me, but I really just need to write. I noticed that my life has been so angsty lately. That can’t be normal can it? I’m back to my insomnia because I’m just so stressed out, so it’s four in the morning. I need a vacation away from everything. Is there anything cool in Nevada besides Vegas? I just want to thank you for being there for me, especially when this all started mostly for you. I didn’t realize that maybe I needed someone to talk to outside of my regular people. Thank you for not getting overwhelmed with my problems. I just feel so dumb how I’ve mentally handled the whole Plax thing, but I need to stop talking about it. I’m probably annoying the heck out of you. I know everyone else is annoyed about me talking about it. It’s not even that bad, and I shouldn’t lose sleep over a girl. 

         I still can't believe our Matt's really were the same person. Perhaps if he goes to visit you again I could hitch a ride. Do you think meeting in person would be weird? It makes me want to know what you look like even more than I already do, but if you're not comfortable with that yet it's fine. Heck if you’re ever interested all you gotta do is ask, and I’ll rifle through my selfie folder to find you the best one :P. Until then perhaps we’re spies on a secret mission and what each other looks like is classified information. I’ll be the cool sharpshooter and you can be the sneaky assassin.

        You haven’t really been talking too much about you and Shiro lately. I mean, you have, but I like hearing about the antics you two get up to. It’s funny how I looked up to him because of how successful he is and cool he made space sciences to be, and here I am becoming friends with the one person he’s closest to in the world, and he isn’t at all who anyone, especially me, made him out to be. I’d still be super nervous to meet him and all, but it’s cool to hear about the sides that aren’t all professional. It makes him more human. All that and I really like to hear about you annoying the heck out of him. It’s funny.

Sorry I just spent a paragraph talking about your brother. I’m just writing about anything that comes to mind. Uh, let me tell you about the time when Hunk and I were in elementary school and he accidentally stole a baby chicken. We had a field trip to a farm, y’know like everyone always does, and they separated everyone into groups. Well, Hunk and mine’s group saw the chickens last and they let us go into a pen with what looked like a billion baby chicks, although thinking about it, it was probably only like 20, anyway, Hunk picked one up, and then we all got distracted by our teacher yelling that it was time to go. I guess Hunk just put it into his jacket pocket without thinking and we all filed onto the bus. Thirty minutes into the ride back Hunk starts bawling in the seat next to me, and I’m so confused because only seconds earlier he was talking about how much he loved the farm and seeing where all the eggs and milk and stuff came from. The teacher was sitting in the seat in front of us, and she heard him crying and turned to see what was wrong, and he pulled this little chicken out of his pocket and started sobbing about how he’d stolen the chicken and he was gonna have to go to jail now, but he didn’t mean to steal the chicken. We ended up turning the bus around because they didn’t know what else to do. This was like 5th grade too. 

         We never even told our parents about that. I guess you’re special or something Keithy.

                  Lance!

 

_ june 30 _

_ sharpshooter,  _

_ did i find one? ive been trying for months. _

_ you shouldnt feel bad about needing to talk about things. remember that just because your problems might not be as bad as someone elses doesnt mean that yours dont matter. they matter to you, so they matter to me. and i bet they matter a whole lot to hunk and pidge and your family. _

_ its so weird that i wasnt tipped off by matts sisters name. i think you told me once. honestly,  i think i mightve met her once when they were still in school. im not too sure, but i a little bit remember someone who looked exactly like matt but younger and had longer hair. i wont tell you not to come, but where i live, there isnt a whole lot to come and see. vacation at disney or something. youd probably have more fun. _

_ you shouldnt be losing sleep over anything! am i going to have to remind you to go to bed every night? because ill do it lancey. dont test me. i have nothing to do besides close the garage five days a week. i havent really been talking about things lately because shiros been working his day shifts and ive been working evenings. we usually overlap so i might see him around 9:00 at night, but thats it. i guess i could change my availability so we both work similar hours. my boss hates making changes like that though. the more i think about it, the more it sounds like we both work at the garage. he, in fact, has a better job than i ever will. is it weird to say i kind of miss him even when i live with him? _

_ oh! guess what! he said hes considering letting us get a pet, but id have to pay for it. i have no problem with that. hopefully its not another fish. i cant flush another mr.gills. _

_ im not surprised hunk cried when he realized he took the chicken. he sounds like the most innocent person in the world. im not a hugger, but i kind of want to hug him. dont ever let go of him. im a little surprised the school didnt tell your parents for you. stealing a chicken, even on accident sounds like a big thing, even for 5th graders. i never went to the farm on a field trip. once in high school environment class i got to help milk fish, but i dont know if that compares to a farm. it was gross. _

_ -keith. _

 

July 2 9:47 a.m.

**Lance:** You called me lancey ///

**Keith:** I did?

**Lance:** And I quote… because I'll do it lancey. 

**Keith:** Must've been me moving faster than my brain. I don't proofread the letters

**Lance:** ////

**Keith:** did I find  your nickname?

**Lance:** //////// I thought you found sharpshooter.

**Keith:** lancey is making you feel some kind of way, and I'm not sure if it's good or bad….

**Keith:** I think it'll stick

**Lance:** Whatever keef -_-

**Keith:** :)

 

July 8

Keef!

         I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I read your last letter. It’s been a lot. It makes me feel better. Ur cool. 

         So, I went back and I checked, because I've saved every single letter, and it's almost been a whole year of us knowing each other. You've written me 21 letters. It's crazy! Sometimes when I'm extra bored, I reread them and I think of all the other ways I could've chosen to respond, or I attempt to remember what it is that I told you in the first place. I like to reminisce if you haven't noticed.

         There's no need for you to stay up with me. It's not like you'll even know if I'm not sleeping anyway. I could just not respond to you send pretend like I'm asleep. Honestly, I've been a lot better lately, so I've been sleeping. You really don't need to worry about me. 

         You absolutely have to tell me immediately when you get a pet or even just when you're deciding. I already have a ton of name suggestions to help when you're ready. Mr. Gills was a tragedy and probably animal abuse.

         You have to change your work schedule because I’m lacking any fun stories, and that's a vital part of your letters. Have you gotten any more information on the mystery person he’s talking to? Perhaps he’s got himself a relationship. Would you even be excited about that? You're not dating anyone are you? I feel like you've mentioned that,  but I’m curious, and once again writing whatever comes to mind.

         Oh, I never mentioned that I've been spending the weekends at my dad's house. Sometimes Veronica comes with me, but mostly it's just me and him. We started working on the piece of junk car he had in the garage because he wants to be able to actually use it again. I didn't realize how much oil and grease got everywhere. It's disgusting. I think I’m more of a bringing out the lemonade and handing him the wrench kind of guy, but I suppose it's important to learn a little bit about cars besides just being able to change a tire and the oil.

        Anyway...How are you? How’s your magic going? Have you painted your nails another color yet? My birthday is on the 28th. I'm almost an actual adult!

                  Lance!

 

_ july 13 _

_ lancey,   _

_ i think itll stick.  _

_ i dont know how important it is to learn to put a car back together completely at home. maybe jump starting it, tires, and knowing how the pieces work because its cheaper to fix it yourself if youve got the time. if everyone learned id be out of a job. on the other hand, i put my bike together from scratch. parts arent cheap, so i like to think of it partially as a goodbye present from my dad. we used to live near an area bikers liked to ride through. no matter what was going on at home, my dad would stop what he was doing so we could watch when a pack of them drove down the street because i would get so excited because i thought they were so cool. if anything were to happen to red i dont know what id do. im glad the car is helping you home with your dad though. you didnt mention anything for a while. _

_ if shiro started dating someone i think id be fine with it. that was the kind of vibe ive been getting too. obviously when he wasnt looking id scare them a little, maybe bring out my good pocket knife. if theyve been texting this long i doubt theres anything i could do to sway either of their opinions. as for me, im very single. have been for a while, but im not really looking much anymore. _

_ youre not a very good liar. i think id be able to tell if you were lying about not sleeping. that being said, as much as id like to stay up with you, and you explicitly stating in one of the last 22 letters that it was nice to be up with someone, i wont do it unless you ask me to. which i have absolutely no problem doing. _

_ i havent done magic in six years, im not gonna start that up again.  _

_ i actually did buy a bottle of nail polish. i just havent used it yet.  _

_ -keith. _

 

July 17

Keef!

         Pidge got this lizard last weekend. I'm only telling you because the second she told me I was like, oh man, I bet Keith would love this! Anyway, it's a chameleon and she named it Rover because she hates it. I'm kidding, she loves him so much. I just happen to think Rover is explicitly a dog name. He eats crickets from a little hanging bowl and hisses at me every time I get near his habitat, which takes up like half of Pidge’s room. How she finds it is honestly a mystery to me. Also, I never even touched it so I don't get why it hates me already. I'm wonderful.

         I have most of the things for my dorm, but I don't have anything for the walls. I don't even know if we're allowed anything on the walls but to me a room without anything on the walls feels wrong. I've got a ton of pictures of Hunk, Pidge, and my family, but that's only gonna fit like a quarter of the walls. Maybe I'll get picture frames.

          Thankfully I'm rooming with Hunk, so he’s fine with me filling up space like that. He's the same way. Maybe we'll make a family portrait wall or something. I can't wait until Pidge can spend the weekend with us like old times. She'll be fine without us though. I don't hardly worry about her except for her sleep schedule, which is worse than mine if you can believe that.

          Speaking of, I'll keep how you feel in mind, but I don't know if it’ll sway my opinion much. I'm not here for ruining others sleep schedules, even if they're willing to do it. End of. 

          Okay, obviously both Shiro and the person would know how you are, but how could a knife not sway an opinion!?! And if that's your good knife do I want to know how many other knives you have? Do you often threaten people with knives? And why am I imagining you to be like one of those cool greaser type people who can twirl a switchblade between their fingers without slicing themselves? Oh my gosh. Stoooop.

                     Lance!

 

_ july 25 _

_ lancey, _

_ i have three knives. the one my mom gave me, the good one, a really bad one i found at the park when i was 15, and one shiro got me for my birthday last year. unfortunately, i doubt anyone willing to get close to shiro wouldnt be familiar with dealing with difficult people. that and he probably warned them about me. no. i dont often threaten people with knives... anymore...  _

_ i love chameleons. when i realized that they couldnt change patterns and stuff when i  was younger, it was so disappointing. what they can do is amazing, and their eye rotation ability is so cool. id get one, but brave, strong shiro doesnt like crickets, or cages that take up too much space. i want my pet to live a good life, not a cramped one. pidge mustve gotten a grumpy one, which isnt uncommon. i dont think its possible for anything outside of the grumpy realm to hate you. im curious to know what you think a good name is. rover sounds fine to me. _

_ so i overheard shiro the other day upset about using almond milk in his cereal because he hates the way it tastes. personally, i prefer dry cereal, or actually no cereal. hes the one punishing himself because hes convinced if he bought real milk id drink it. i hate all regular milks except strawberry, i thought he knew this. ive never even touched the almond milk before. its gross. im just gonna let him suffer. he threw my ice cream away again. _

_ because i wont have the time to write to you before your birthday, happy birthday. you deserve the best day ever. did you throw a party? _

_ -keith _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im just gonna say the garrison is a regular university here. I'm attending community college so if college life feels weird eventually that's 100% why. Dorms who??  
> Also I have plans for future chapters for once??? Wow.  
> Thank you all for reading this still. Your comments always make my day! :)


	9. July 31 to August 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short because I haven’t written in ages, and because so much happens  
> I’m sorry about the 4 months away...  
> Also I posted this on my phone so if there’s formatting errors that’s why hopefully I fixed them all tho...

July 31

Keef!

      You would drink strawberry milk and eat your cereal without milk. Smh. Do you take lactase pills? Maybe if Shiro saw you take those then you’d be able to keep your ice cream.

      I did have a really good birthday. It was only Hunk, Pidge, and my family. I'm glad it was a smaller party because I never really told anyone about how things ended with Plax. I think it probably would have brought the mood of the party down. I think maybe if I was put on the spot like that I might lie about what happened. I really told them all that she was special. We didn’t even date for Pete’s sake. I’m dumb.

    Like I said, it was a small party, but Hunk came with full sized cake, I don’t know if you know cake terms, it was huge. Usually stores only sell quarter sheets for you to just pick up and buy, and you have to order even a half sheet, there’s no way they’d just have a full sized because that’s huge. Think of your couch cushion sized, and we ate the whole thing!

        Also, my dad came and the gift he gave me was the car. The car he’s had since used to ride in that car when we were younger. It was the one thing he made sure came with us when we moved here. He said he took a few days off to finish it without me, and now it’s mine. What if I wreck it or someone steals it? What if someone even dents it a little? I’ll never be able to look my dad in the eye again!

        The name comes with the animal I think. Like my cousin has a dog named Bark Obama, and my neighbor's cat is Winston Purrchil. Maybe I just have a preference for puns. I don’t know. Personally, I think you should have the pet for a few days before deciding her name is Nicki Meownaj, or something like Carla or Joseph. Imagine if your dog got out and you were yelling Joseph after him. I can’t wait until I get to pick out my own pet.

     I’m vaguely concerned by your anymore. I can’t really see you threatening anyone with a knife, but I suppose if it’s your good knife anything is possible. Also would Shiro really give you a knife if you were gonna threaten his significant other? I guess things like that come in handy especially like when you were in the motel with the serial killer knocking on your door.

Lance!

 

_august 8,_

_lancey,_

_lactase is the worst pill. its powdery and dry and id rather face a stomach ache than take those. shiro tried. and at least i dont put the milk first like a heathen. strawberry milk is good what the heck._

_my dad didnt care much about the knives because mom had them. shiro was super against them though. he tried to confiscate the knife my mom gave me because what 12 year old needs a knife, but after we got the roommates we had before we left, he realized that it was more of a necessity._ _they werent good people. actually, shiro doesnt know about the one from the park. hed lose his mind if he saw it._

_so i realized the garrison is in nevada… where i am… so i guess if you run into some kind of problem with your car you could tell me and i could help and your dad wouldnt know the difference. i probably wouldnt charge you anything either since we are friends or whatever._

_im not surprised by what you think a good pet name is. im never naming my pet joe or carla or nicki meownaj._

_so i switched my hours at the garage so i work during the day. its nice to actually have dinner with him even if were just arguing about what to  with fast food in our laps. he got around to telling me that the person hes been texting is someone he is interested in dating and that i have actually met them before but he doesnt want to tell me who it is until hes certain that theyre actually a thing. let’s face it though, shiro is a disaster gay, so ill never  it is. also, keep that bit of info between the two of us though._

_yknow the whole thing with plax makes you sound more like a romantic than dumb. i really dont like when you call yourself dumb because you arent._

_-keith_

  


August 13

Keef,

See, that last paragraph of your letter just makes me think you wouldn’t pull a knife on someone. You’re too sweet.

        It never even occurred to me that we would both be in Nevada and we could potentially meet! Oh my gosh I’m going to bother you incessantly until we finally get to meet! I guess maybe we should talk on the phone first or something because I guess you could still be a 57 year old creeper. I doubt it, but in this day and age who even knows.

       You don’t have to use Carla, you could always call it meowthman or something. I guess you just seem more of a cat person to me.

        I’m on the edge of my seat with the whole Shiro story! Every new piece of information is another puzzle piece and I’m dying to finish the puzzle! Do you think you know who it is? Are you gonna threaten them with a knife? Aaahhh!

       Um, so you don’t have to answer this question and if it really bothers you or something I won’t even mention it again, but you’ve mentioned your mom and dad a few times, but I’m confused about the whole timeline of things. Could you set that straight for me? If you want to, but you totally don’t have to.

       Anyway, Veronica was so jealous that I got the car and she didn’t, but she actually has a car, and I was basically bumming rides from Hunk or just walking everywhere. I’ve barely driven the thing since I got it, but it does make me feel better that you offered to help if something happens to it. Thank you.

Lance!

 

**August 16 2:48 p.m.**

**Keith:** my mom left when I was nine and I know nothing else about that really bc there’s no information

**Keith:** shiro started to help my dad out around that time.

**Keith** : my dad died when I was 12, a fire like I told you and now I live with shiro.

****Keith** : ** does that help?

**Lance :** thank you for answering my question.

**Lance** : I just wanted to get all the stuff you’ve told me in order. I’m sorry if it was crossing some kind of line

**Keith** : I wouldn’t’ve told you if i didn’t want you to know

**Lance** : do you want to know more about where your mom went?

**Keith** :...

**Lance** : sorry you don’t have to say anything

**Keith** : I honestly don’t know if I want to know because I don’t want to change what I think of her

**Lance** : that makes sense

**Keith** : i don't think I want to talk about this anymore

**Lance** : no no you’re good. I shouldn’t have asked

  


**August 16 5:27 p.m.**

**Keith** : do you FaceTime? I need to show you something

**Lance** : yeah one second

_**August 16 5:33 p.m. call begins** _

_“Hey, um, so remember that street I told you about that I can go as fast as I want down?”_

“Yeah. Why do I feel like you’re about to show me something bad? All you’re showing me is the pavement.”

_“Because I want to show you this before shiro kills me.”_

_“_ Keith… your bike… are you okay?”

_“I wasn’t going that fast. Maybe 55. But I swerved to miss this.”_

_“_ 55 isn’t slow! What is that? You never told me if you were okay.”

_“I’m fine, Lance. Don’t worry about me. It’s the kitten I’m worried about.”_

“Oh my gosh.”

_“It’s fine, I needed to clear my head, but now there’s this kitten, and I don’t really know what to do.”_

“You’re positive your okay? Your bike is literally crushed. Wait, you’re only out here because of the questions I asked aren’t you?”

_“I promise, I’m okay. Nothing’s broken, and nothing is your fault.”_

“Are you gonna take the kitten to the vet?”

_“I have to don’t I?”_

“Shiro is gonna kill you. _”_

“ _Yeah…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t decide if I like adashi or shatt better... any preferences?  
> Next chapter will be longer I promise :)


	10. August 19 to September 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> extra ooc today??

_ august 19 _

_ lancey, _

_ first of all, dont you dare think for a second that any of this is your fault because you gave me every out that you could when you asked me those questions. you made it perfectly clear that i didnt have to answer if i didnt want to but i actually wanted to tell you for some reason. so i dont want you to think its your fault that red is basically irreparable. itll be worth it to fix her, but its going to cost a hell of a lot to fix her, and i just dont have that money.  _

_ second of all, shiro almost had a heart attack when he found out. i bet youve never heard someone cuss so much. i got hurt when i rolled off the bike, and he made me go to the er before he even let me think about doing anything about the kitten. remember to dress for the slide not the ride because i sure as hell didnt. _

_ for now hes letting me watch the kitten until we can find her a permanent home. im a little disappointed we cant keep her. i mean i did almost die to help her but whatever. ive been calling her miss or lady right now because i cant think of anything better. if i send you pictures will you help me name her? maybe shiro will let me keep her if she has a name.  _

_ one last thing before i stop trying to write with the hand that has two broken fingers. this might sound weird, but you sound different than i thought you would. not that its bad. just, well, i guess it was nice to hear your voice is all. anyway… _

_ -keith _

  
  


August 23

Keef!

You told me that you were fine! You freaking facetimed me with broken fingers? What other parts of you got hurt? Keith, I don’t know whether to be flattered that you thought of me immediately after totaling your bike or extremely upset that you could have really hurt yourself or had a concussion or something and you delayed medical attention because you had to show me a kitten. Which I will totally help you name by the way because that cat has caused you too much trouble to not keep. I sincerely hope that your fingers are the only part of you that is broken and the rest is just scrapes and bruises. 

There is absolutely no part of me that is going to accept that this wasn’t at least 76% my fault. I shouldn’t’ve asked you the first question let alone the second one, which I didn’t even think about being a problem before I sent the message. I don’t care if you told me because you wanted to. I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t pry into your life, and I would let you tell me about things when you were ready, and for that I am truly sorry. That and you literally freaking told me that you weren’t sure what you would do if you ever lost Red, and now she’s gone because I couldn’t keep my promise. I’ll help you rebuild her the best I can. Just let me know what I can do and I will.

And Shiro was definitely in the right for making you go to the ER before you go to the vet! As bad as it sounds to say, I’d much rather have you alive and well than the kitten, not that I don’t think it was super brave of you to save her life and everything, but you’re so important. 

It’s nice to find out that you aren’t an old man. At least that’s what I gathered from your voice. You didn’t sound like I thought you would either, but you have a really nice voice.

Lance!

P.s. school starts next week so I’ll text you the new address if you still feel like talking to me after this whole thing

 

August 25 5:25 A.M.

**Keith:** Go to sleep.

**Lance:** How did you know I wasn’t?

**Keith:** Dunno, I just didn’t think you were.

**Lance:** I guess you are magic. 

**Keith:** Its five am. Have you slept at all? 

**Lance:** Not consistently since your last letter

**Keith:** IT’S SUNDAY!

**Lance:** Yeah, it is.

**Keith:** can you facetime rn?

**Lance:** Yeah.

**Keith:** Call me. 

 

**August 25 5:32 A.M.**

“Wow.”

_ “What?”  _

“Congratulations on your face.”

_ “Oh shush. What’s wrong?”  _

“Nothing, I just can’t sleep.”

_ “Lance. Please?” _

“It’s nothing new, I promise.”

_ “You look tired.”  _

“So do you.”

_ “Lemme rephrase, you look exhausted and like you need a doctor.”  _

“Thanks.”

_ “You know what I mean.”  _

“Yes, but saying that doesn’t help.”

_ “Sorry” _

“Don’t be. You didn’t do anything.”

_ “What do I have to do to convince you that you didn’t do anything wrong?” _

“I don’t know.”

_ “I take that road at least twice a week, and I usually go faster than I was. I’ve rolled my bike tons of times. Maybe not like that, but it was bound to happen. Do you really think I’m the type of person that would continue to talk to you if I thought that you were the reason I ruined Red?”  _

“I guess not, but it meant so much to you. Your dad...”

_ “Would’ve been just like you and Shiro. He would’ve yelled at me worse than Shiro did which would’ve been ironic considering he ran into fires recklessly. It’s different when it’s your kid though, but if he was still here I don’t think I’d quite understand that yet, and he would’ve taken my keys even though I’m a legal adult. Dressing for the slide is one thing he always stressed because he knew one day I’d end up getting a bike, but I never thought it would really be a thing I ever had to worry about. Apparently, I was wrong, but I think he would let me keep the kitten, which you still need to help me name by the way… Lance?... Goodnight.” _

 

_ august 27  _

_ lancey, _

_ hopefully this gets to where its supposed to go. i thought id send this kind of as a dormwarming ???? letter. _

_ alright, this is the last time im going to mention this at all. im not going to pretend like im not devastated by the loss of red. i am, but i also did a lot of thinking in that er waiting room trying to block out shiros nagging. that bike wasnt my dad. it wasnt replacing my dad. i have pictures and memories and my brother who has more stories. hes gone, but im not forgetting him just because red is dead. and now were done talking about it. _

_ the little lady that ive been watching has the cutest meow ive ever heard. shes started to take to shiro, and i caught them napping on the couch together. she was curled up on his chest purring in her sleep. he pretended like it didnt happen, but i have pictures.  _

_ im referencing the letter you wrote before i wrecked. why do i love meowthman though? also im not naming her that. you hit the cat person spot on though. ive always really wanted a cat. im still trying to get shiro on board but i think if the person hes been talking to is the person i think it is then i can get him on board too. unfortunately right now if its who i think it is, hes not actually in nevada right now so that might be a problem. also im not sharing who i think it is because i dont want to be spreading rumors that arent true. get excited though.  _

_ tell me more about your friends. how is living with hunk now? how are you taking being a state away from your family? hows classes? the garrison is tough but im positive no matter what you tell me youre actually doing great so far. i bet youre a natural there.  _

_ sorry this is short, i dont have much to talk about at the moment.  _

_ -keith _

 

September 3

Keef!

I am so sorry that I didn’t respond sooner. I got so caught up in classes and homework already that I just didn’t have any time to reply to you. My classes are hard, but I’m actually enjoying them? Hunk is in half my classes though so it makes it a lot easier. We’re getting a lot of Gen. Ed. out of the way so it makes sense for us to just take the same classes. It’s weird without Pidge though. I mean, she’s always a phone call away, but I’m used to eating lunch with her every day and having her get frustrated with me when I was attempting to do my math homework ten minutes before class. There’s this one teacher, he’s teaching my chemistry class, and he’s the literal worst. Like I think he hates me personally even though I haven’t done a single thing. Whatever, I need an enemy anyway. 

Hunk is a dream roommate. We have a strict bedtime because he gets cranky if he doesn’t get exactly eight hours of sleep a night, and he’s a light sleeper so I couldn’t do anything after lights out even if I wanted to. So I’m learning how to be efficient with my time, or I just leave to go to the library. He’s surprised me with coffee three times this week though so who’s the one winning? I respect his sleep schedule, he respects my need for coffee. Also, I got to meet the girl, Shay, that he was talking to before. She’s exactly the kind of girl he would go for and I’m so happy for him. Now if he could just ask her out. 

Right now it’s kinda weird knowing that my family is a state away, but that’s part of growing up isn’t it? They’ll be out here regularly anyway, or I’ll go home for the weekend. It’ll be familiar soon though I’m sure of it. I’m attempting to have a completely positive outlook here because it’s a miracle I got here in the first place. 

Speaking of, I’ve seen exactly two pictures of Shiro on the walls of past alumni. He looks so cool and heroic in the photos. I don’t recognize that many other people, but I guess your brother was just the most noteworthy one. Lol. 

He’s gonna say yes to your cat. Also, send me the pictures of them napping together that way you have even more backup. So I had an idea. What if you named her Red after your bike? I really doubt you’d like any of the names I might come up with, and it’s like my cat Blue. They could be best friends! Gosh, that’s exciting. 

So am I supposed to be getting excited about Shiro’s almost-boyfriend because I’ve been excited this whole time or for some other reason?  And if he’s not in Nevada then where is he?

Also, I’ve been thinking that maybe sometime you should drag Shiro out here so that he can be famous for a weekend again. Also I kinda just want to finally meet you. Is that weird?

Lance!

  
  


_ september 8 _

_ lancey,  _

_ i have no doubt that youre doing amazing at the garrison. _

_ i still havent confirmed my suspicions about the boy, but hes not in nevada because he doesnt live here. thats the only reason that i havent completely confirmed it. im just having a hard time wrapping my head around why shiro would start a relationship with someone long distance. i bet if you really thought about it youd see why youre supposed to be extra excited. _

_ i dont think shiros been out to the garrison in years. hes not really the type that wants to be famous. not after everything he lost. hed rather not be recognized. also the guy is also an alumni. i bet his picture is on the wall too.  _

_ im really gonna have to think about giving the kitten the name red. its hard to live up to the name. i bet she could do it though.  _

_ shiro lost the kitten this morning. he got a day off and so i wasnt home because i had to work an early shift. he called me in a panic because the cat was missing and he couldnt find her anywhere. i faked a family emergency, which i doubt my boss believed anyway. we spent two hours looking for her. she was in the box of cheerios shiro had for breakfast and put back up on top of the fridge.  i havent had so many emotions in such a short time in years. _

_ so i guess at shiros job they hired a new guy to work there. they were joking around shiro having a brother that was single and im not really sure what happened besides that i now have this guys number. i dont know this guy at all and i dont think im that in to dating anyone right now. shiro keeps telling me to have some fun, and he wouldnt steer me wrong, but im nervous? _

_ is there anyone at the garrison thats ca _ _ ught your eye yet? _

_ -keith _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell that i still havent decided who to have shiro date? leaning towards matt, but i really like the idea of adam. hElp  
> Also i still haven't finished season 8 and i dont think i want to yikes.  
> i still dont check these for errors so please let me know if something is really not right


End file.
